Shanghai Girls

I didn't get as much enjoyment from this book as I have other books by Lisa See. [b:The Island of Sea Women 40538657 The Island of Sea Women Lisa See https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549839392l/40538657.SY75.jpg 62803411] was my first from her, and I liked it so much I also read [b:Snow Flower and the Secret Fan 40873273 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532005164l/40873273.SY75.jpg 1453585], which I also enjoyed, if a bit frustrating. I wish I could say the same about this book, but it was all of the frustration for not a lot of gain. Sisters Pearl and May are displaced Beautiful Girls from Shanghai, basically pin-up girls used in advertising campaigns. They believe themselves untouchable and unapproachable, but soon find real life politics and war intruding on their sheltered and pampered lives. In order to save themselves, they find their way to American and Angel Island, chasing after arranged marriages that they were reluctant to pursue before it became their only way out.I found Pearl and May unlikeable in different ways. Pearl is rooted in tradition and sensible actions, while May is the dreamer and used to getting her way. On several occasions in the book, Pearl has to save May from her own careless actions, who then flippantly doesn't see anything she's done as being wrong. Pearl herself turns bitter and suspicious of everyone and everything as she ages, and the fact that the two sisters never air their grievances against one another at all during their lives together comes to a (predictable) head near the end of the story. Lisa See loves driving home the importance of communication in her books, and this one is no exception. I also never really felt connected with any of the characters. Things happened, but without that connection I also didn't really feel anything when they did. I just felt a vague sense of importance, like “hey this is relevant to the story” rather than any real grief or sympathy for the main characters. I don't know, this one felt like a miss to me. If you've never read Lisa See before, read one of the other books by her I've mentioned here, because I think they do a better job at telling a story you feel connected with.

I really enjoyed this one, not quite as much as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but it was still a really good read. One thing I love about books by this author is her beautifully descriptive writing, it just pulls you into the story, makes you part of it, makes you care and how she can weave facts with fiction into such a compelling story. The only negative thing I will say about it was the ending, wasn't of fan of the ending. LOL Definitely another great book from this author who is fastly becoming one of my faves!

This is the first Lisa See book I have read, but I have heard such great things about her and her books. This was a chance reading because the book was on sale at Amazon for the Kindle; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have read it. It was certainly worth the sale price, and I'm even going to purchase the more expensive sequel.

I like long and complex sentences in my fiction, but this book didn't really have those. Nor were there long descriptions of fluff; everything served the purpose of moving the plot along, almost to the point of feeling choppy. Thankfully, the plot is excellent. The story of these two women is emotional, uplifting, saddening, heartbreaking.

There are some obvious parallels I think to the current immigration situation here in the US, and also to how we Americans perceive and stereotype people from a country as foreign to us as China. Not only did I learn a great deal about China right before WWII, but I learned more about myself as well. It's a good thing when a book encourages me to ponder my own life.

I love reading about non-Western culture, and this book is an easy read yet full of complicated themes – hopefully I'll be reading more See in the near future!

This was a really quick read. Very engaging. Didn't like the ending, but I couldn't see any other way to end it either.